Lindsay's journal.....3 half marathons later and I'm still at it updated 7/12

Hi Lindsay,
I just followed your signature link and wanted to say hello! :flower3: Thanks for sharing so many wonderful pictures! It is really easy to see the change you have made in yourself this year. Congratulations on your success thus far!!

Also great news that you'll be doing the Princess race! princess:
 
thanks for the compliment. :goodvibes I am 5'6. I have always looked lighter than what the scale says. Even at a really healthy skinny weight I am still 155. I guess Im just big boned.:lmao:

Lindsay, I am the same height as you and my trainer told me the normal weight for that height is 155-186, but keep in mind that I am 50 so I know my body fat percentages can be a little higher.

You're doing great and we will be sure to exchange cell numbers so we can meet up before the Princess. princess:
 
Hi Lindsay,
I just followed your signature link and wanted to say hello! :flower3: Thanks for sharing so many wonderful pictures! It is really easy to see the change you have made in yourself this year. Congratulations on your success thus far!!

Also great news that you'll be doing the Princess race! princess:

thanks corinna.

Lindsay, I am the same height as you and my trainer told me the normal weight for that height is 155-186, but keep in mind that I am 50 so I know my body fat percentages can be a little higher.

You're doing great and we will be sure to exchange cell numbers so we can meet up before the Princess. princess:

Lisa that was some great news. Thanks for sharing. Even though I am younger Its nice to know I am at least close to normal if not there right now. Sounds great about the numbers. I am so excited to meet you and and Kathy. I am really looking forward to it.
 
Lindsay- You are looking awesome!! You can see such a big difference, and you look so fit. You must be proud. Isn't the princess a huge motivator? I'm amazed that I am still running, and the I ran through the summer, and I know if the princess trip wasn't in my future, there would have been so many days I would not have gotten out there. It will be so much fun.

Lindsay, I am the same height as you and my trainer told me the normal weight for that height is 155-186, but keep in mind that I am 50 so I know my body fat percentages can be a little higher.

You're doing great and we will be sure to exchange cell numbers so we can meet up before the Princess. princess:
I'm 5'6" too. How funny is that. I like your trainers normal weight scales so much better than ww.
 


I ran a short run tonight due to lack of time. I completed 2 miles in 21:30. Its my fastest miles yet. I dont think I could keep that place longer than a 3 mile run but it felt good. It made me feel like I am making progress.

I plan on running again on thursday. Then I am doing a race in New York City on sunday. Its the tunnel to towers run. approx 5K. It is in honor of a FDNY fire fighter who was off duty on the day of the 9/11 attacks. When he heard what happened over the radio he got in his truck and drove toward the towers. He got stopped in traffic right outside of the battery tunnel. He got out, put on his gear and ran to the towers to help his crew. He died along with all his crew that day. He left behind 5 children. The race traces his steps on that horrible day. It is in memory of all of those who lost thier life that day.

I think it is going to be such a great experience. I am hoping emotionally I can hold it together to run.

I am hoping to carry along my camera and if i do I will post some pics. I will give you all an update after the race.
 
Hi everyone that still may be following me.

I want to share one of the greatest runs I have ever taken with you.

What: Tunnel to Towers 5K

When: Sun Sept 26th

Where: Red Hook area Brooklyn NY to Ground Zero New York, NY

Who: Me, My best friend amy, her dad Barry who is a local city fireman, and another fireman friend of his who also brought his wife and 10 year old son.

Why: The race supports the Stephen Siller Foundation. Stephen was a NY FireFighter who was off duty on 9/11. When he heard an aircraft flew into the towers he dropped what he was doing and immediately went to help his crew. He got stopped right outside the battery park tunnel. He got out of his truck put on all 75lbs of his gear and ran to the site of the towers. He was last seen approaching the towers. He lost his life that day trying to help others. This race traced his steps he took on that day.

Here is my story:

We left Barry's home at 4:45am. I had to wake up at 3:45am to get there on time.:eek: I didnt sleep well the night before. I was afraid I wouldnt here my alarm clock.:lmao: We arrived in NYC around 6:45am. We had a bit of trouble finding the area but once amy's dad got over his stubborness he agreed to let amy use her Iphone to GPS where we needed to go. That got us there with no problems.:rotfl2: We parked a few blocks away from the finish line. Getting there early had its perk, we got a spot on the street and didnt have to pay 25$ to park.:woohoo:

We met up with the other family in our group and walked over to the port-a-potty area. After we finished our business we headed to the area where the shuttle was taking runners to the start. We got in line and shortly the bus came. They had every thing so well organized.

We got to Coffey Park in brooklyn. Registration was easy. We pretty much just hung around talking and taking in the excitement. There were so many men and women running in their fire gear. It was amazing and very inspirational to see. After numerous trips to the port-a-potty and checking in our sweatshirts with UPS we made our way to the start area.

Amy and I waiting for the race to start. I am the one with brown hair....oh well I guess you know that since I have posted other pics.:confused:
NYC5Krun11.jpg


We were towards the front of the pack but still were 3 blocks away from the actual start line. There were over 15,000 people there. They had big screens set up sporadically so you could see and hear what was happening at the start line.

While we waited we saw a very "old" man approx 80 in his fireman suspender pants and boots, a tshirt and his firemans hat. The site of him doing this brought me to tears. We also saw a few groups of fireman from other countries. England,Spain, and Ireland. Here is a pic of a man from england. I took this not just because he was from england but he was a nice site to look at while I was waiting....you get the idea right.:rotfl2:

NYC5Krun12.jpg


They had "warrior" soldiers injured in the war that started the race along with the marine corp cadets. After a young girl sang the most wonderful rendition of america the beautiful they let them start their race. Once gentleman that they were honoring was a sargeant in the army who lost both of his legs just 6 months ago in aphganistan.:sad2: They gave him the fire engine red wheel chair bike. I was almost sobbing at this point.

Shortly after they started. They had a gentleman sing the star spangled banner. Then they rang the liberty bell in remembrance.They would announce what the ring was for, then they would ring the bell once, followed by a moment of silence. They rang for the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11, then for the # of first responders who lost thier life (I cant remember the exact # is was close to 100, then for the people on the aircraft that crashed in Pa, then for those who lost thier life at the pentagon, for those who lost thier life fighting the war-I cant remember the exact # but it was close to 4000:guilty:, and the last bell was for stephen siller.

Once we got past this emotional moment. They counted down and Rudy Guilianni gave the go. Everyone was cheering and clapping. It was amazing.

Shortly after the start you made a turn and headed down the hill and into the tunnel.

NYC5Krun4.jpg


It was hard to run at a good pace and I just came to the aggreement that I am not running it for a PR I am running for the experience so I didnt worry much about the speed. As we got into the tunnel the chants of USA...USA...began. Wow I cant even put the feelings I had into words. I felt like the 1 1/2 miles I ran through the tunnel gave me a whole new inspiration in life. Here are some things I saw in the tunnel.

NYC5Krun5.jpg
Sorry for the blur I was running.:rotfl: I wanted to give you the idea of how packed we were. Ahead you can see a guy running with a flag wrapped around him.

Next is one of the best pictures I could have taken. A firefighter running/walking in full gear..including the Oxygen tank carrying an american flag. I took the picture right as one of the guys from england came over and hugged him and walked along with him for awhile. Totally amazing.....
NYC5Krun3.jpg


By this point you can see I was on the walking/slow running side of the tunnel. I hung with the faster runners until about 3/4 of the way through. It was so hot in there. I could only imagine how those firefighters were feeling.

Next I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Doing this run and feeling the heat/crowd gave a new meaning to this phrase.:rotfl2: Here is my view as I excited the tunnel. Completely breath taking is how I would describe my feelings.

NYC5Krun10.jpg


I could hear the cheers and people going crazy. i though I was close to the finish. Nope as I ran just a bit up the hill I saw this on the right side of the road
NYC5Krun1.jpg

and this to the left
NYC5Krun.jpg


On the right were the FDNY in thier formal attire. Each had a flag hung over them with pictures and names of the firefighters who died on 9/11. There were 343 firefighters that lined the street. It went for blocks long. They all were clapping/cheering/encouraging, and giving us high fives. I dont know what other word to say but AMAZING.

On the left were the US coast gaurd in their formal attire. Each holding an american flag.

We ran through the city. There were a bunch of bands playing, cheerleaders cheering, spectators cheering us on. There were people even cheering out of thier apt windows 30 stories up in the air. again....amazing

We ran through the empanade which is like a nice area around ground zero. It is along the hudson. I wish I got a better picture of this view. It was the NY cityline with the hudson in front of it. It was a breath taking view. I was so happy to be running there. It was awesome. In the water they had the NYFD fire boat....it was blowing its horn and siren with Firefighters on it cheering us on with megaphones.

Shortly after this part we were back into city streets. I ran up along the coast gaurd and the army running in their packs. They were doing there sound off. "I dont know what you been told" repeat. I hope you get what I am saying. Im sure there is a name for this.

NYC5Krun7.jpg

NYC5Krun6.jpg


I want to say for the record. I passed them.:banana:

At this point in the race it got a little hairy. There were some curbs and bumps that they had volunters standing by so no one would fall but people still tripped anyway. I felt like I was going through an obstacle course.

We were just a few blocks away from the finish.....their was a band playing on the corner with a female singer. They were singing this really slow song. I made a joke to a girl running next to me. I said wow they should be playing proud to be an american or we will rock you....not this slow stuff. She looked at me like I was nutz and just smile...so I ran ahead.:rotfl2: I was running next to 2 fireman in their gear and I know they were really feeling fatigued. They were cheering each other on and saying things that once again brought tears to my eyes. The one said "we can do this...I love you brother"

As I swallowed hard to hold in my tears I turned the corner-where there was a kids soccer game going on.....I love this about the city...you never know what you will see between the buildings. We had only 1/2 block to the finish line.
NYC5Krun2.jpg
this pic was taken later so thats why no one was running ahead of me.

I sprinted along with others to the finish. Finishing time 39:11. About 2-3 min short of my current 5K times but like I said this wasnt a race for me.

There were people still lined up for a few blocks cheering us on. I made my way through and found amy and her dad. They had tents set up all along the streets like a festival. They had so much food to offer (free) Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Roasted chicken, hot wings, shepards pie, pasta, salads, water. It was wonderful. We got our free shirts and ate some food. Here is a sand castle that was made:
NYC5Krun8.jpg


They had a parade of the FDNY that were standing earlier along the race along with the coast gaurd and the NYPD. They were led by the FDNY bag pipe band. They also gave out scholarships from the foundation. One was to a girl that started college this year. Her father was killed in Iraq in 2003. She was crying on stage and it broke my heart into a million pieces.

We grabbed our jackets at the UPS pick up area. Headed back to the car and drove home. We didnt stay for it but Montgomery Gentry was putting a concert on after a few local bands played. Dennis Miller the comedian was also there too.

It was just such a great experience I am still having a hard time putting it all into the right words. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my experience sorry the pics were so many different sizes. Thats what happens when I use my camera phone.
 
What a fantastic race report! I am sitting here crying just having read it, I can't imagine what running it was like! Sounds like I might have to try to do that one in the future!

Glad to see you back on the INCREDIBLES too! Keep up the great work!!:thumbsup2
 


Wow, Lindsay, your race report was great and really gave a good feel for the day. What a wonderful tribute to all who were lost that day protecting us. How amazing to be a part of something so special.
 
thanks everyone I am glad you enjoyed reading it. I really wanted to capture how I was feeling to not only share with you but to have to reflect on as a memory of one of the truly amazing things Ive done in my life. :goodvibes
 
Race Update:

I completed my first 5.3 mile race today. This is the longest race I have participated in so far. It was a lot of fun.

It was the women's classic....supporting womens cancers. Only women can participate.

I ran this with my friend Ashley. Here we are waiting for the race to start.

5mileracelinzandashley.jpg


The 5 mile race started first at 940am. It was a sunny day but cool and windy. I was freezing waiting to start but once we got going I warmed up quickly.

Here we are walking to the start
5milerace.jpg


We somehow started in the front. We didnt plan it I guess we just werent really thinking. There were 350 participants and once we started it felt like all 348 of them were passing us.:lmao:

We completed our first mile in 10:30 which is pretty fast for me but apparently still slow compared to everyone else. Ashley usually keeps a 10min pace for a 5K but since she has not run further than 3 miles she decided to hang back with me so that I can motivate her to keep going. Gotta love the girl she made me feel good for the day.:lovestruc

The first half of the run was pretty flat. Here we were approaching the 2.5 mile mark.

5milerun.jpg


My parent and Ashley's husband were standing there to cheer us on which surprised us. It was a good motivation to keep on going. There was a paramedic cart there and I wondered why. Later my mom said a lady fell right before we got there. Poor thing.

The rest of the race was pretty boring. Not many supporters or music. There were 2 teenage boys during mile 4 standing and dancing on a picnic table cheering for us. It was quite funny and they were so cute I wanted to stop and give them a hug.:rotfl:

At the end of mile 4 there were 3 big hills kind of like an up down up down up down pattern. The downs were great but the ups were quite a killer. The first one I stopped to walk and at one point thought I would have to use my hands to crawl up it...it was so steep. The second and third we ran up. I was glad they came at the end because I think it would have really wiped me out in the beginning mentally.

Here we are completing mile 5 and rounding the corner to head to the finish.

5mileracealmostdone.jpg


We are still smiling!!!!!!:)

We started sprinting and then after a min or so I realized we still had a ways to go. i guess I thought .3 wasnt that far.:lmao: I slowed down a bit because I could feel myself getting really out of breath. Ashley started to get ahead but noticed I was falling behind. She slowed down for me to catch her and we crossed the finish line together.:lovestruc

We completed it in 1 hour 2 min and 8 sec. a 11:57pace.
as we crossed we gave each other a high five. As we were walking away a reporter came over and asked our names and where we were from. I wonder if we will be in the paper tomorrow.:confused3

The post race food was good. We got a pink ribbon bagel from panera bread, pears, pretzels, and red robin gave out baked potatoe soup.

It was a great race and a great accomplishment. 13.1 miles here I come.:dance3:
 
AWESOME job Lindsay!! I am super proud of you! You are so going to rock the Princess, I just know it!!

Keep up the good work, you are doing great!:cool1:
 
WOW Lindsay there really are no words for that experience- I would have been a blubbering idiot through the whole thing.



You are looking great by the way- great job!


Linda
 
AWESOME job Lindsay!! I am super proud of you! You are so going to rock the Princess, I just know it!!

Keep up the good work, you are doing great!:cool1:

Thanks veronica. I need to get the link for the october boards seeing you on here just reminded me I havent made my way over and its past the middle of oct.:eek:

WOW Lindsay there really are no words for that experience- I would have been a blubbering idiot through the whole thing.



You are looking great by the way- great job!


Linda

Thanks linda. Yes it was hard to keep the eyes dry but it was just such an amazing experience. One I will remember forever. Thanks for the compliment.
 
It has been so long since I have posted in my journal. I am still working hard at my goal. The princess half marathon is only 3 weeks away. I leave for disney in 2 weeks and 4 days.:yay: I am so excited I cant hardly take it anymore. I wish I could leave tomorrow.:rotfl:

My weight loss has been somewhat stagnant the past few months. I am stuck around 180. I go up a few down a few. I am doing pretty well with my eating although I have had some cheat days more often than I would like. I think since I have started running for longer time frames it is messing my my metabolism.

So I know I am not even close to my weight loss goal but I am still very close to my half marathon completion goal.

Today I ran 10 miles. It is the farthest I have ever gone and I feel very good about it. I am a tad sore but not bad at all. I feel very strong and very ready for the princess.

I am making a promise to update my journal more and do my monthly pictures again. Even if I do look the same in each one.:rotfl2:

I will post a new pic in the next week or 2 of my outift for the princess. I am still deciding on what to wear for sure.
 

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